


Once Upon a Time

by Butterfly



Category: Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-01-23
Updated: 2004-01-23
Packaged: 2017-10-26 19:46:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/287175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Butterfly/pseuds/Butterfly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Over the years, things drop away and things stay, as the story is told.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Once Upon a Time

It wasn't all that long ago, truly. And barely the blink of an eye ago, as the Elves reckon.

There are still elves, lass - they've just grown quiet and shy. Mayhap some day, we'll take you to see one. Now, where _was_ I?

Aye, yes - just at the beginning.

It was barely but the blink of an eye ago, as Elves judge things, when Samwise the Stout-hearted and Frodo of the Nine Fingers set out with Peregrin Took and Meriadoc Brandybuck. Aye, lad, I'm sure their parents wouldn't let them go on such a dangerous journey, but between just us, I'm thinking that they didn't tell their parents at all. Aye, I suppose that would worry them a touch. When did you get to be so responsible anyhow? Your Da will be right pleased to know how grown-up you're sounding.

Now, Frodo was carrying a heavy burden, and the others were along to help him. Because there isn't a hobbit among us who can bear any such heavy burden alone. And I'll be getting back to Sam in just a minute, you impatient bother. If you want to skip around to the parts as please you best, then you can read the Red Book for your own, and stop listening to your old Gammer.

Frodo carried a heavy burden, he did. It was evil and weighed him down, so that when he returned to us, he didn't laugh nor smile anywhere near as much as he should have. Well, I'm speaking from what Sam-dad would say, as Frodo left to be with the Elves years afore I was born. Yes, lass, I do believe that he went to be with the Elves, as did Sam-dad. Samwise the Stout-hearted wouldn't leave the person he'd always took care of, not leave him forever, anyway.

Samwise and Frodo were set on their task by the great wizard Gandalf, who is said to have been the best creator of fireworks that the world has ever seen. Now, Frodo hadn't planned on taking Peregrin and Meriadoc, but their love for their cousin was too strong for them to let him go off on his own. Frodo went off to save the world, but Samwise and the others - they went to keep Frodo safe.

Now, Peregrin and Meriadoc got involved in the great fighting, and came back to us with the names of Kings on their lips. They also came back fit to be Thain and Master, and were great ones. But for all that they fought and got honors, they weren't as scarred as Samwise and Frodo. We all know why Frodo was called "Frodo of the Nine Fingers" - because that heavy burden of his burned him right through and did its best to destroy him - would have, were it not for Samwise.

With Frodo and Samwise, and Peregrin and Meriadoc, five others traveled for the first part of the journey. One was Gandalf, as I mentioned earlier. Two of them were Legolas and Gimli, whom deserve their own tale - the elf and the elf-friend. The other two were Men, Boromir - brother to Faramir, who you all know about well enough - and the other was Aragorn, who you'd know by the name King Elessar.

It wasn't too long into the tale when they lost the wizard into darkness. And after that, I suppose the rest of them couldn't hold together - it was too much, and with Frodo's burden a siren call to the others, so they say. Boromir died saving our Peregrin and Master Meriadoc, and Frodo and Samwise went off alone to Mordor. The other three, Elessar and Legolas and Gimli, they couldn't follow because they had to find Peregrin and Meriadoc, who'd been captured by Orcs.

Aye, they did end up escaping on their own - Hobbits are right clever, and can do very well without Men to aid them. That's when they met the Treeherder and when they saw Gandalf again. They were the first members of the former company to see him alive again, as was fitting, for I think that he always loved us best. Especially the Tooks. Both Bilbo and Frodo had enough Took in their blood for them to count, anyways.

Peregrin and Meriadoc were the ones that inspired the Ents, as the Treeherders are called, to capture the wizard Saruman in his tower. Aye, sometimes I do think that it's a shame that he wasn't killed then and there, but there couldn't have been no taking over of the Shire if there hadn't been those who'd allowed it. You'd do good and well to remember that, lass.

Now, during this time, Samwise and Frodo met up with the creature Gollum, who Frodo bound to them as their guide, though Samwise wasn't fond of the idea. Gollum was a miserable monster, broken by the evil of the times, and utterly lost to reason. Yet, for all that, it was a good thing that Frodo did as he did, for they _did_ need a guide and that's the truth.

The others, they had to fight battles, but they never stopped worrying over Samwise and Frodo - for they knew that if those two failed, all the fighting would be for naught. No, lass, I don't rightly understand the why of it myself, but I was never truly good at figuring such things. Sam-dad said it, though, as did Thain Pip, and I trust their word.

It was around then that Peregrin and Meriadoc were separated. You see, Peregrin found something that was connected to the great evil, and it'd touched him, so they had to get him away from where he was - get him to a safer place. This is when Peregrin became of Gondor and Meriadoc of Rohan - they pledged themselves to the current lords, and that means something, as you well know, lad. Always keep your word, and hope that you'll end up half as well as they did.

Now, Meriadoc, he helped kill the Witch-King of Angmar, but in the doing, got himself very hurt. Peregrin himself was the one who found Meriadoc on the battlefield, and I never saw him speak of it but there were tears in his eyes. Now, talking of the Witch-King didn't bother Meriadoc half so much as the mention of the troll as squished Peregrin in the final battle. Both of them cared much more for the other than for themselves, they were that close.

Aye, like Samwise and Frodo. You see, Gollum lied to them - he was taking them into Mordor, where they needed to be, but he was taking them by a road which was bound to get them killed - and it nearly did! Samwise and Frodo faced a giant spider, and then Frodo was captured by Orcs, leaving Samwise needing to save him. But he did, though apparently the Orcs mostly killed themselves first - as evil things do, lass - they turn on each other, every time. He found Frodo and they made their way into Mordor, having left behind the traitorous Gollum.

But they hadn't left him far enough behind - when they were finally close to the mountain, where they could destroy the evil, Gollum found them, and attacked.

Samwise held him off, and Frodo went into the mountain alone. The second that he thought Gollum had been contained, Samwise followed Frodo into the fire and rock. But the worst thing that could have happened did, and it near broke Sam-dad's heart to mention. You see, Frodo couldn't destroy the evil - maybe none could have, because it spoke to the darkness in him, made it grow and cling. And we all have our darkness, lad. We all have things we'd rather no one know about us. So, Frodo couldn't destroy evil, and instead, the evil took him.

Now, see, this is where Frodo saves them - because the creature Gollum attacked Frodo to get that evil back. If Frodo hadn't spared the wretch, all would have been lost. But Gollum went into the fire, and the evil with him.

Now we get to the part that's... bittersweet, I suppose one might say. Because when the four came back, Meriadoc and Peregrin and our Sam, they proved themselves to the Shire, with word and deed. But Frodo was tired of deeds and just had words left in him, I suppose. So, apart from our family, the Shire has never shown Frodo the respect he deserved. But we know, don't we?

Aye, but we weren't there to take care of Frodo - he had Sam-dad and Rose-mum to care for him, but he didn't have nothing of his own blood to keep him here. He didn't feel worthy of staying, is what I think it was in part, from what Sam-dad told me. Which is a right shame, for we can all see that he didn't do anything unworthy. He did the most that could be asked of any soul.

But he couldn't understand that, not as lost and hurt as he was. That's why he went with the Elves, and with Mr. Bilbo Baggins and with Gandalf.

By now, I suspect he's healed - especially with Sam-dad there to care for him, as he should.

Do I miss him? That's a hard question, lass. Aye, I do. He's my da, and I'll always miss him. But I'm grown - I'm _old_ , and I don't need no more taking care of.

But Frodo - Sam-dad said once that he fretted about whether the Elves cared for Mr. Frodo right. I suspect that he couldn't be happy unless he knew Frodo was being taken care of right. And to Sam-dad, that meant by his own hand.

So, aye. I miss him. But I don't see as he could have made no other choice. Da needed to care for things - for his gardens, for mum, for all of us. With us grown and taking care of the gardens, and with mum gone, it wasn't a surprise he went to the one he'd grown up caring for.

We're Gardners - aye, even me, who is a Took as well now. We're all Gardners, but Sam-dad was a _gardener_ , never stopped being one. And he never stopped being Mr. Frodo's gardener.

Aye, the story couldn't end any other way, I don't think.

Not and still have a happy ending.

  
_the end_   



End file.
